Game of Thrones – Game of Death

Game of Thrones is an RPG made by Cyanide Studio and was released back in 2012 to not much fanfare. At first glance, it looks like a typical low-budget title cashing in on something popular outside of gaming, and by the visuals, it clearly is – budget that is. Even so, this game after a comprehensive play-through is fantastic, a true hidden gem in my opinion. It’s based on the TV series with the same name and does interact with it in minor ways – which adds to the enjoyment if you followed the show back in the day.

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Rain of Reflections: Set Free – No Child Policy

Just your regular corporate PMCs patrolling

Rain of Reflections is a point & click adventure game with combat in turn-based mode. It was released by the Swedish developer studio Lionbite Games back in 2019. It was supposed to be a three-chapter thing, but thanks to low interest, the game got unfortunately abandoned. So we only got chapter one, which of course has the game ending on a major unresolved cliffhanger. I have owned this title for a while now, I think I got it for one euro or something ridiculous like that, and I thought it might be time to give it a go regardless of the finished status. I’m not regretting that decision, the only regrettable thing here is that it wasn’t completed.

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The Bureau: XCOM Declassified – A good game?

The confused Xcom. The hated Xcom! The Xcom that wasn’t Xcom. It was a divisive time, and I do agree partly with the naysayers—it sure didn’t feel like the classic games going by the promotional material. But as it turned out, I took a real liking to it. I can’t say anything about the first-person-oil-slick-enemy-Xcom that was the original pitch because that game never got to see the light of day. Instead, we got an underrated little squad-based third-person shooter with RPG elements in the company of a damn good pulp-like story. This game is one of my guilty pleasures, and I think I have finished it three times by now. I’m here to tell you why it’s so good and why you should play it. And there are plenty of reasons to do so!

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Icewind Dale II – Temple Hell

I can’t critique the full game since I have not finished it, and unfortunately, I’m not sure how likely that will be. Anyways, talk about a game that goes from awesome RPG goodness to a pure bore of the slog +2…

Let’s start with the good parts. The intro, like the first Icewind Dale, is great and gets me into the adventure headspace immediately. Creating the characters for your party is fun – especially now considering the engine was updated to D&D 3.0 edition rule set (which is my favorite version) from 2.0. The prologue and the first chapter have a magnificent feel to them, a freezing old town under siege by goblins and orcs. Mercenaries and guards are all over the place, and with an exciting narrative that steers towards conspiracy and treason.

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Arma 3 APEX – Jungle Fever

My buddy and I recently finished the official APEX expansion in cooperative mode for Arma 3. The story is a direct continuation of “East Wind” from the original game. At first, it does feel disconnected until something specific comes up, which I won’t spoil. It’s a cool touch having a narrative that connects with each other, considering it’s a war simulator and not your standard AAA-game series.

Instead of the usual all-out war, you play as a cloak-and-dagger special operations team that has the task of taking out a local warlord on the island paradise (for criminals) of Tanoa. This group is named “Syndikate” and is mostly equipped with old-fashioned AKs and equipment like that. Not the high-tech armies of past campaigns. However, later on in the campaign, you get to meet another faction that is equipped with more futuristic high-tech weaponry, like yourself. The story is presented in a very Tom Clancy-esque way, which to me is awesome. It instantly gets me into the clandestine thriller mood, so well done here!

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